Lena Waithe (/weɪθ/; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present). Waithe gained recognition for her role in the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None (2015–2021) and became the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2017 for writing the show's "Thanksgiving" episode, which was loosely based on her personal experience of coming out to her mother. She has also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2018 adventure film Ready Player One and the HBO series Westworld. In 2023, she was nominated for Best Play at the 76th Tony Awards, her production work on the sketch-comedy play Ain't No Mo'. Waithe was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2018 and was included on Fast Company's Queer 50 list in 2021 and 2022. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lena Waithe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 17, 1984 (42)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Producer, actor and writer
- 34 on MovieCove · 71 credits in all
What are Lena Waithe's films like?
Across their 22 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 12
A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 3 · Dark 4
Grounded 8 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 1
Gentle 3 · Charged 7 · Intense 4
Steady 5 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 2
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Denise in Master of None (2015)
- Allyas Aech in Ready Player One (2018)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet9
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Lena Waithe's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 32 of their 34 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (10).
- Master of None (2015) · actor, writer, producer
- The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) · producer
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) · actor
- Big Mouth (2017) · actor
- Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration (2022) · actor
- Mating Season (2026) · actor
- #BlackAF (2020) · actor
- Step Sisters (2018) · producer
- Dear White People (2017) · actor
- Beauty (2022) · writer, producer
Subscription and free streaming for Lena Waithe's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
71 credits, 34 with a MovieCove page; 24 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Place to Be (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Mating Season(2026)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
Hey A.J.!(2026)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Window Cleaners (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Honey Bare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Good Hang with Amy Poehler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Corpse Fishing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Tender Thoughts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Meal Ticket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Play Hard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Bitter Leaf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Sarajin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Kokomo City(2023)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Last Days of the Lab (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
My Nights Glow Yellow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Order for Pickup (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Sorry Grandpa Hsiao (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
A Thousand and One(2023)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Being Mary Tyler Moore(2023)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Chang Can Dunk(2023)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
The 2010s(2023)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows
The 25th Filial Exemplar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Beauty(2022)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
100% USDA Certified Organic Homemade Tofu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Beast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Black Santa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows
Artistic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Only the Moon Stands Still (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Shoebox (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Soñadora (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Bad Hair(2020)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Them(2021)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
The Beauty President (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Tab Time(2021)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
You Love Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
#BlackAF(2020)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows
You Ain't Got These (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Onward(2020)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Twenties(2020)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows
Queen & Slim(2019)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Fragile.com (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
A Black Lady Sketch Show(2019)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows
Boomerang(2019)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows
Rising (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Ready Player One(2018)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Step Sisters(2018)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
The Chi(2018)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Big Mouth(2017)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
Dear White People(2017)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
Westworld(2016)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
This Is Us(2016)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Master of None(2015)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Ladylike (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Dear White People(2014)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Transparent(2014)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
I Will Follow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Bones(2005)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Comeback(2005)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Grey's Anatomy(2005)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
FREYR (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Grand Rising (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Such a Fun Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Talent Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Friendship Breakup Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 92nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 67 titles, 62 of them dated from 2005 to 2026; peak year 2019.
Biggest box office
Ready Player One (2018)
Highest rated
The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)
Most popular right now
Ready Player One (2018)
Film career
Peak 2019 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2015Screen debut· Master of None
- 2015Primetime Emmy win· Master of None
- 2018First film· Ready Player One
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
a Primetime Emmy and 1 other major award from 7 major nominations, 2015–2024.
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best First Feature
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Comedy Series
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Lena Waithe's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 14; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up14
- 50th to 74th10
- 25th to 49th7
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 34 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Divisive4
- Cult Classic4
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Mixed10
Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 47. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Lena Waithe's work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity and alcohol & drugs run heavier than most films and violence & gore lighter.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Lena Waithe work with?
People who share at least 2 of Lena Waithe's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rishi Rajani shares the most, 8.
Directors
- Justin SimienShared titles: Hollywood Black (2024), Bad Hair (2020), Dear White People (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Justin Simien
- Jingyi ShaoShared titles: Chang Can Dunk (2023), Twenties (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Jingyi Shao
Actors
- Giancarlo EspositoShared titles: Hollywood Black (2024), Beauty (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Giancarlo Esposito
- Kevin HartShared titles: The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021), Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Hart
Cinematographers and editors
- James AdolphusShared titles: Hollywood Black (2024), Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023)See all 2 shared titles with James Adolphus
- Phillip J. BartellShared titles: Bad Hair (2020), Dear White People (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Phillip J. Bartell
- Topher OsbornShared titles: Bad Hair (2020), Dear White People (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Topher Osborn
Producers
- Rishi RajaniShared titles: A Thousand and One (2023), Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023), Chang Can Dunk (2023), Kokomo City (2023), Beauty (2022), The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021), The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020), Twenties (2020)See all 8 shared titles with Rishi Rajani
- Andrew C. ColesShared titles: Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023), Twenties (2020), Queen & Slim (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Andrew C. Coles
- Brad WestonShared titles: A Thousand and One (2023), Chang Can Dunk (2023), Queen & Slim (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Brad Weston
- Julia LebedevShared titles: A Thousand and One (2023), Bad Hair (2020), Dear White People (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Julia Lebedev